New Lamar D-lineman Okafor ‘looks the part’

Houston Bellaire football coach Trey Sissom, on new Lamar defensive lineman Joe Okafor: “He’s the guy you want getting off the airplane first. If there’s a guy on the cover of the media guide, he’s the guy you want because he looks the part.”

Then there’s this from Sissom, on the 6-foot-6, 295-pound Okafor: “He has to understand what he’s doing. Joe is not one of these guys who is not going to go into anything blindly. He’s very methodical. Once he understands you have his best interests in mind with what you’re doing, he’s going to go full speed for them.

“He has to have a good bond with the coaches and understand where they’re coming from. He has to trust you have their best interests in mind. That’s one thing the coaching staff has to do. They’re going to have a rapport with him and get on him to get him to work.”

Sissom is a first-year head coach at Bellaire, after serving as the school’s offensive coordinator and associate head coach for the last two seasons. His first season at the school was Okafor’s last.

Okafor played only two seasons of high school football. That might have kept some schools from recruiting him. But Sissom said Okafor had a tight bond with then Oklahoma State associate head coach Joe DeForest, who left after the 2011 season to be the defensive coordinator at West Virginia.

Following that, Okafor moved to the offensive line and was slotted as a third-string right tackle before spring practices.

Losing DeForest and changing positions might have caused Okafor to want a new place to play, Sissom said.

“From a physical standpoint, he has got the tools to be playing in the NFL, with what he’s able to do with his size and speed and the force he’s able to generate,” Sissom said. “He definitely has the ability to play on Sundays.

“It’s a matter of if his mind is set to it. That’s what it’s been with him. If his mind is right and he’s comfortable and he does what the coaches ask of him, he’s going to be a heck of a player.”

Clearly, Lamar has a player with great potential. It’s just a matter of tapping into that.